Our Faculty

Courtney Ozoveck is a dance artist, choreographer, educator, and lighting designer rooted in the Los Angeles and Orange County area. Currently, she is a company member with Keith Johnson/Dancers from Long Beach. Her personal concert dance work has been presented in California, Arizona, Alaska, and Guantanamo Bay as well as in shows at Universal Studios, Disneyland and private corporate events. Recently, she worked alongside award-winning Broadway choreographer, Patrick McCollum, as Assistant Choreographer, in the LA Philharmonic’s production of Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Her musical choreography credits include 35 MM, Heathers, West Side Story, Lizzie, The SpongeBob Musical, The King and I, and more.She earned her M.F.A in Dance Choreography and Performance from CSU Long Beach and her BA in Dance from CSU Fullerton. She is proud to be in her sixteenth year on faculty at CSU Fullerton supporting a variety of students in their dance and musical theatre programs. Courtney is grateful to have the opportunity to work with the artists and creative team here at The Young Americans.

Originally from Maryland, Jennifer has trained for 30+ years in Ballet, Modern, Contemporary, Hip-Hop, Jazz, and Tap. She has performed nationally and internationally throughout her youth and later obtained a BFA in Dance Performance, a minor in Business Administration, and a Masters in Education. Post grad she went on to live and perform in Tokyo, Japan for the Tokyo Disney Resort where she also took on a Dance Captain role in addition to performing. Now residing in Los Angeles, she has performed with numerous companies in the LA area, appeared on television shows, and national commercials. For the past 11 years she has performed in various shows and events for Knott’s Berry Farm Entertainment and the Disneyland Resort as a show swing and dance captain.

In addition to her passion for performing, she also shares a great love for teaching and coaching young performing artists. Jennifer has dedicated 8 years working in Dance Education at Sunny Hills High School, The Boys and Girls Club Clubhouse Academy, CalArts, and The Young Americans. She finds great fulfillment in sharing her knowledge and love for performing with her students, and is thrilled to continue her work in encouraging her students to find purpose through their own unique gifts and talents.

Valerie Stanford is an actor and director who has worked extensively in New York, Chicago, Miami, Boston, Cape Cod, and Los Angeles at theatres including Coachella Valley Rep, LA’s LGBT Center, CalRep on the Queen Mary, LaMama, Gablestage, Bailiwick Rep, Speakeasy Rep, and Off-Broadway. She teaches/has taught at The Young Americans College of the Performing Arts in Corona, The Miami Theatre Center, The Brooklyn Friend’s School, and CalState Long Beach where she received her Master’s in Theatre Arts. She is a member of several theatre companies including Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theatre, The Provincetown Theater, The Playground Theatre in Miami, and Buzzworks Theatre Company in L.A.

Anna Barnutiu is an active piano teacher and performer of both chamber and solo performance. She has performed on numerous platforms throughout her solo and ensemble studies and involvement with California State University Fullerton and Claremont Graduate University, Riverside Community College Percussion Ensemble, and Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corps. Following her undergraduate education in Piano Performance, she earned her Masters of Arts Degree in Piano Pedagogy at California State University Fullerton and upon graduating, received the Richard Chronister Piano Pedagogy Award. She continued her music education at University of California, Irvine to complete her Single Subject Teaching Credential in Music in 2014. Currently, she is completing a Doctorate of Music degree in Piano Performance at the Claremont Graduate University. Anna has been a music faculty member at the Young Americans College of the Performing Arts since 2015, and is currently the chair of the Music Department. Throughout her performing, teaching and academic career she accredits her amazing teachers, supportive family, loving husband, and almighty God.

Dr. Goodman is an American social psychologist as well as a veteran professional actor, singer, composer, author, and artist. He is an expert in the psychology of entertainment, has lectured on NLP across the country, was a baritone soloist with symphonies around the world, was the first live-action Aquaman, has his own animatronic character in a major Disney park, has produced film animation, helped develop television game shows and educational films, and has produced and narrated a number of audiobooks. Dr. Goodman has a black belt, and has been awarded special commendations from the California State Senate and California State Assembly for his contributions to the Arts.

Dr. Schoepf has been an Instructor of Human Biology at The Young Americans College since 2019. She earned a Ph.D. in Biology at the National University of the South in Argentina, where she studied electrical signals in plant and animal cells. Dr. Schoepf was a full-time research scientist at the University of California for over 20 years and studied vitamin D physiology and bone tissue regeneration. She has been a dedicated college instructor for over 20 years. In addition, she is the translator of the Spanish version of Biology, Concepts and Relations, by Neil Campbell and collaborators, published by Pearson Education. Dr. Schoepf is the mother of three daughters, and grandmother of one little girl.

My name is Rozaena Naim and I have been teaching math for the last 10 years now. I love to make a difference and I believe education makes a big difference! I have been working for young Americans for the last five years, and I absolutely love it. I love interacting with our students and love the amazing energy that is constantly found on campus!